Project Egypt: The First Night
by clairegrisham3
Summary: For Mimi Daley, what started out as a project for school turned into one of the greatest adventures of her life. (Book One of the Project Egypt series.)
1. Chapter 1

Project Egypt

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" my world history teacher, Mrs. Hardy raised her hand. We students obeyed and fixed our eyes on her. "In two weeks the World History Fair will be held, and I've selected the following students to participate: Emily Adams, Hannah Matthews, Charles Bradberry, Isabelle Connelly, Skye Kennedy, and Mimi Daley."

What a minute! She called my name? Mrs. Hardy called Mimi Daley. Me!

"For this class," she continued, "you're country is Egypt."

There were gasps of excitement. Mrs. Hardy raised a hand that meant she wanted us quiet.

"If I called your name, please come see me at my desk," she commanded.

I got up from my seat and made my way to her desk by squeezing in between chairs and saying "Excuse me" to get by. When I got there I found I was the last in line to see who or what subject of the Land of Pyramids I got.

My thoughts began to wander. I thought about my dad. He had been struggling to find a job and moving from one apartment to another because of his schemes to pay his rent. He was currently living in Brooklyn, and I was hoping he'd stay there for more than two months.

"Mimi," my teacher called my name.

"Yes?" I replied.

She just chuckled and smiled. "Your assignment," she said, "is on an Egyptian Pharaoh of your choice. Just make it someone other than King Tut."

"Yes, ma'am."

She handed me a slip of paper with all of the requirements listed.

"150 points?" I asked under my breath.

* * *

"How am I gonna do this?" I asked Skye on the way home after school. "I don't even know that many pharaohs of ancient Egypt."

"You'll find something," she encouraged. "At least you don't have to research at least four great battles of Egypt."

"I have a biography to do. You're the one who has the report."

"Exactly! In my point of view, biographies are easy. You just have to find when that person was born, what they did, and when they died."

"It's more complicated than that," I disagreed.

"How so?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as we approached my apartment building.

"It just is."

In silence the two of us approached the door of the building.

"Has your dad found a job yet?" Skye asked.

"No," I sighed. "But I hope he does, and soon. He's probably about to be evicted from his apartment. Again."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you at school. Tell you your dad I said hi," she said as she walked off.

* * *

"Hi, Mom," I called as I came in through the door.

"Hi, Mimi," she replied as she come from the kitchen.

"Where's Dad and Nicky?" I asked after putting down my backpack and looking around.

"Your dad took Nicky to his ice hockey game," she replied as she went back into the kitchen. "They should be back later. How was school?"

"I have a project due in two weeks," I told her.

"Doesn't sound very fun, by the tone of your voice," she commented as she came back into the living to serve me a cup of hot chocolate.

"It's more of a biography. I have to do it on a pharaoh of Egypt, and I'm not allowed to research King Tut."

"That does make things a little difficult, doesn't it? What will you be calling it? 'Project Egypt?'"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I don't even know any other Egyptian pharaohs other than Ramses II and Hatshepsut, or where to begin. And I should call it 'Problem Project Egypt.'"

She then stared at the floor. I figured she was thinking.

"How about down at the Museum of Natural History?" she suggested. "I think that would be a good place to start."

"You think so?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks," I said. "May I go tomorrow after school?"

"You may after you finish your homework tomorrow," she replied, kissing my forehead.

"Okay."

"Speaking of homework-"

"I know," I interrupted her before she could finish. "I'm going."

I got up and took my backpack and my hot chocolate back to my room.

I got an unusually good feeling in me that something great was about to happen, but I wasn't sure what it was. I figured it was probably because I felt that my dad would be getting a job soon.

The next day, after school, my mom got a call from my dad. I was sitting at the kitchen table trying to work out an Algebra problem. Mom was cooking dinner, and Nicky was in his room probably playing video games or reading something.

"Oh, Larry," she smiled, "this is great news. I'll tell them…yes, this will be good for her. She was going to stop by in a while, so maybe you can show her around. Bye."

"What will be good for who?" I asked her.

"Great news, Mimi," she said as she sat down across the table from me. "Your dad finally got a job."

I froze in excitement.

"Where?" I asked.

"At the Museum of Natural History. He's going to be the new night guard there."

"This is good news."

"He said that if you ever need to come in at anytime he'll be there."

"Great. This will be perfect for finding a pharaoh to do the biography on."

* * *

"Hey, Nicky," I told my little brother a while later. "Guess what?"

"Yeah?" he said as he looked up from his book.

"Dad got a job," I said.

"Where?"

"Museum of Natural History."

"What's he doing there?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Night guard, but I still think he should know his history, though."

There was a pause then Nicky and I just burst out laughing.

 **Thanks for reading. I'll have the next one up soon. I'm sorry if this chapter was really cheesy. I blame writer's block.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day after school I went to the museum. I was hoping to see my dad at his new job, but mostly to get at least some research in for Project Egypt. Once I was inside, I walked past the huge T-Rex skeleton and the wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt riding the back of his horse.

I turned a corner hoping to be in the pharaoh's exhibit but found myself where all of the miniature figurines were displayed. Taking a glance at both displays of the Western and the Romans, I wondered what it would be like living in each of those time periods 2,000 years apart. I chuckled in amusement of how small the figurines were.

Eventually, I came across a display of Indian artifacts. There was a life-sized statue of what I assumed was a queen. She had a soft smiling expression, and her eyes her warm and joyful. Her arms were out in front of her as if she were holding a book. Her dress and sari were made of green and white glass. Actually, _she_ was made of glass.

I glanced down at the name plate. _Scheherazade_ it read. I looked back up at the glass figure surrounded by pottery.

"What's your story?" I asked her, knowing that she was just a statue who wouldn't answer back.

"Are you finding everything okay?" a voice from my right asked. I turned to see a tall, slender woman with dark hair and a sweet face walking towards me.

"Actually, I do need some help," I admitted. "It's been a while since I've been to the museum, so I don't really remember where Ahkmenrah's exhibit is."

"Follow me," she said.

I followed her back through the lobby up the marble staircase, turned a corner past the Hall of African Mammals, until we finally approached some hyroglyphics on the wall.

"The pharaoh himself," she pointed to a gold sarcophagus down a dimmed hallway, "is right in there."

"Thank you," I said.

"Anything you want to know?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "I'm working on a project for school, and I was wondering if you knew anything about the pharaoh or any resources for research."

"Sure! Ask away," the lady smiled.

"What dynasty was he from?" I asked as I pulled out my pen and notepad

"Ahkmenrah was from the Ptolemic dynasty, which lasted from 305 BC to 50 BC," she said as I wrote it down.

"What did he do as pharaoh?" I asked.

The lady explained how he often collaborated with Rome in business and war, how close he was with his family, and that he was one of Egypt's greatest rulers in history. The more questions I asked, the more she gave for me to jot down.

"This is great," I concluded as I began to pack my things. "You have no idea how much I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad I could help," she said with a smile. "If you need anything else, I'll be here. I'm Rebecca, by the way. I'm a docent here."

"Mallory Daley," I introduced myself as we shook hands. "But I go by Mimi."

"Any relation Larry Daley?" she asked.

"Yeah. He's, my dad. Is he here?"

"He's the new night guard here, so he won't be here until tonight."

"Okay. Is it his first night here?"

"Second."

"Alright. Well, if you see him can you I stopped by?"

"Sure thing."

"Thank you."

She walked off as I went to see the pharaoh. When I approached him, his sarcophagus was closed, so I didn't see his mummy.

"Hello," I said awkwardly. _Why am I talking to things that aren't going to respond back anyway_ , I thought.

Something gold caught my eye. When I looked up, a golden tablet was hung on a brown hieroglyphic wall. I read the description in front of me and pulled out my pen and notepad again and wrote down what was in front of me.

 _The Tablet of Ahkmenrah-pharaoh's most prized possession._

I gazed upon the golden artifact again. Something about it seemed almost magical to me.


	3. Chapter 3

It was scorching, but somehow I was standing by the Nile River. Was I in Egypt? I looked out in front of me. Two great pyramids stood next to each other. When I looked down at my reflection in the river, I saw that my hair was in an elegant bun decorated with beautiful pearls and a crown of leaves. I looked older. I was dressed in some sort of white dress with a blood red toga, and I wore gold jewelry. If I was in Egypt, then why was I dressed in Roman garnments?

"There you are," a voice behind me said. I turned around to find a handsome young man in golden robes and a tall, golden headpiece approach me.

I smiled. Did I know him? Why was I smiling?

"I needed to get away from the heat for a little while," I told him, even though it wasn't really me.

"Come," he said with a chuckle as he held out his hand for me to take it. "Our families are waiting."

I woke up. I was still in my bed in my room. I was sort of under the covers, but a book was on my chest. I lifted it off of myself and looked at the cover, but it was only my research book. I must have fallen asleep while reading it.

Putting it back on my night stand, I thought about the dream I had. Who was the handsome young man? Why did he seem so sweet to me?

* * *

After school I came home to work on my homework and try to wrap up my project as much as possible. I pretty much got what I needed, but research could only take me so far. I knew it wasn't possible, but I wondered what it would be like to talk to the pharaoh himself.

 _An interview with the pharaoh_ , I thought. I scoffed at the idea, but somehow in some way it was pretty true. I did want to know _his_ side of the story, but I would have had to been born around the time he was.

I heard the door open and slam shut. Nicky was home. I stopped what I was doing to go say hi to him, but he just stomped passed me into his room.

I put down my pencil, got up from my seat, and tiptoed to his room.

I knocked on his door. "Hey," I said. "Are you okay?"

He just shrugged without making eye contact with me. He just kept staring at the pages of his book.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked him.

"You won't like it," He replied.

"Whether I like it or not, I'm your sister," I told as I sat down beside him and took his hand, "and I want to help you."

He looked up at me and said, "Dad got fired."

My mind seemed to be going through a loophole. "What do you mean he got fired?"

"I was going to get Dad to take me and some friends on a short tour of the museum," he explained, "but I saw his boss yelling at him, and he lost the job."

My brain suddenly went into denial. "Please, tell me you're kidding," I begged my brother. He just shook his head.

"Hey, you two," Dad's voice came from the doorway. "What's going on?"

"You got fired," Micky mumbled while still staring at his book.

"What are you talking about?" Dad denied. "I didn't get fired."

Nicky made eye contact with him. "I came by the museum this morning. I saw your boss yelling at you."

"It didn't get fired. No. We just had a little misunderstanding."

"Why?" I piped up.

Dad fumbled to try to find the words to explain. As if a light bulb appeared over his head, he looked at both of us and said, "Come with me to work tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

Nicky and sat in the security guard's office until Dad came and got us. I tried knocking out the rest of my homework while we waited. I started on the rough drafts of my research paper, checking and polishing it for grammar and punctuation mistakes before finalizing it and writing the final draft. Writing the paper was only part of the grade. I had to make a poster, present verbally, and bring something that represents something of the dynesty.

As I looked over my first draft I noticed that I was missing something. I felt that I was missing something from my paper. I felt that something was missing from Ahkmenrah's story.

"You're doing it again?" I hear my brother tell me. I almost forgot we were in the same room.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"The frown you do and you're eyebrows furrow when you're really focused on something," he replied.

"Oh," I chuckled. "Sorry, it's just this project is a little frustrating."

I decided to put my stuff back into my backpack for now. As I zipped up my bag, Dad came came in and brought me and my brother to the museum lobby.

"Okay," my dad said as placed Nicky on the reception desk. "Best seat in the house."

Nicky smiled then said, "What's going on, Dad?"

"If I told you, you two would think I'm crazy, so I'm just gonna show you," Dad replied as he took a look at his watch. "Let's see in about twenty seconds. Okay, you like tyrannosaurus rex?"

"Yeah," my brother and I replied simultaneously.

"Well, I call him Rexy, and he's about to come to life, Nicolas, Mallory," he said as he watched his watch again, "in…5, 4, 3, 2,…" He posed in some rock star pointing position towards the T-Rex skeleton as if something was supposed to happen.

"Dad?" I spoke up.

"Hang on a second," he said. "Say hello to Rexy!"

"Dad, are you okay?" Nicky asked as I thought the same thing.

"Something's not right," my dad said as he stood up again. He began to look around the museum and shouted, "Guys! Come on! The sun's down!" He then darted over to the wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt. "Hey, Teddy," he whispered to the statue, "Listen, pal, I'm gonna need you to wake up. You need wake up! My kids are here!" He then tried to make to make the horse react. "Texas! Get up, Texas! Whoo! Come on!"

"Just stop, okay!?" Nicky whined as he hopped off the desk.

"You're gonna damage museum property!" I scolded our father.

"No, I'm telling you," Dad said. "There's this tablet. It's called The Tablet of Ahkmenrah, and every night at sundown-"

"Now there's a tablet?" Nicky interrupted him.

"Yeah! There is."

"Come on, Dad."

Dad seemed taken back by Nicky's questioning. I knew what the tablet was, but it having magical powers was just impossible. I thought my dad had gone even more insane than usual.

He then guided us to the pharaoh's exhibit. Dad flipped out his flashlight and pointed it towards the wall where the tablet would be hanging. Only this time it wasn't there.

"It's gone," my dad said.

"What is?" Nicky asked.

"The tablet," Dad replied as he moved closer towards the pharaoh's mummy. "I think somebody stole it."

"Yeah, right," my brother scoffed.

"Let's just go home," I whispered to my little brother.

"I'm not kidding, Nicky," I heard my dad say as Nicky and I started down the steps.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dad had caught up with us.

"Home," I replied.

"Hey, wait a second-" Dad stopped talking. He looked out of the side window, and Nick and I caught a glimpse of three shadows gliding against the outside wall. "Come on."

 **Thanks for reading! I really appreciate your patience. School is keeping me busy, and trying to update everything is not an easy task; but I really do appreciate the reviews. Since you've read the chapter, ou know by now what to do. I will update, but I just can't predict when. :)**


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